LeBron James has now spent seven straight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and is headed into his eighth.
That is more time than either stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Miami Heat.
It makes sense, though, the biggest name in the sport playing for the most valuable franchise.
Or at least it did make sense, until the Lakers brought in Luka Dončić, which changed everything for the Lake Show.
Now, Lakers reporter Jovan Buha stated that he believes there is still an 85% chance he will remain with the Lakers, a number that has dropped by 10% since his last report.
“I think there are a lot of factors that go into this,” Buha said Saturday.
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“I think one thing that could shift this potentially to a 75/25 is asking, 'is this LeBron's last season?' How important is it getting the swan song in L.A. and finishing his legacy as a Laker, or competing for a championship. Two things would have to happen, in my opinion, for this to drastically change. He announces he’s retiring after this year, and then the Lakers are, for whatever reason, underperforming around the deadline.”
It may be unlikely, as James continues to redefine what getting older means as an athlete, but we have seen the Lakers underperform before with him on the team.
After all, they did get bounced by a six-seed last playoffs, while the Cavaliers were the one seed and are now without one of their small forwards (Max Strus) for an extended period of time.
James may give his tenure with Dončić some more time, but don’t be surprised if James decides to take his talents to Cleveland for a third time.
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